Accessing Higher Ground Conference 2007

Accessible Math for the Web

Improving Math Access on the Web with MathML-based Web Pages

Sean Keegan

Web Accessibility Instructor
High Tech Center Training Unit for the California Community Colleges

Overview

Challenges between math and access technology

Math access and alternate formats

Creating accessible math for the Web

MathPlayer and Internet Explorer

Resources

Math and Access Challenges

Mathematical equations contain symbols and notation different from text

These symbols and formatting communicate specific information about content as well as order of operation

Mainstream assistive computer technology have not been able to "read" math content to communicate mathematical information to user

Notes:
WinTriangle is a software application that is designed to be a "rich-text editor" for math and scientific notation and allows a user to enter and read mathematical equations. While it does show promise, it is still in early development and I am not considering it mainstream assistive computer technology (yet).

MathType

MathType is an equation editor for MS Office

Allows equations to be entered into MS Word documents much like the Equation Editor

Additional math examples can be found at http://www.htctu.net/demos/ .

Sample Workflow

Create your equations in MS Word using MathType

Export to Web using the MathPage function

Choose MathML export

Select XHTML+MathML for IE and Mozilla/Netscape browsers

View the web page in the appropriate Web browser

Do not use the "Save As Web Page" option in MS Word!

Notes:
The web page will be exported with a .xht extension. This extension may not be recognized on your local computer by Internet Explorer and may only open with a Mozilla/Netscape browser provided you have the appropriate math fonts installed. However, if you upload the file to the server, then it should render correctly in Internet Explorer provided the .xht extension is a recognized MIME-type for your web server. For information on configuring the server check out: http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathplayer/author/creatingpages.htm. This generally requires adding the .xht extension to the recognized MIME-types for the server.